The Matrix
"The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth." ''- '''Morpheus, The Matrix' '''The Matrix '''is a neural interactive simulation, a virtual-reality world created by Machines that control the human race and use us as their source of power. As machinekind dominated the Earth, they sought a means of sustaining themselves after humanity had blocked out the sun, their original energy source. During the brutal conflict between humanity and the Machines, they experimented on the dead as they searched for an alternative fuel and finally devised a means of utilizing the thermal and bioelectric energies of the human body. Humans were then installed within vast structures that siphoned off their bio-energy, but could not survive for long without proper neural stimulation. This led to the development of the Matrix, a virtual reality where human minds could reside. History Development The original Matrix was created to be an idyllic paradise where humans could live happily without want or suffering. However, the human race had evolved through struggle, conflict and the need to set goals and strive to achieve them. Therefore, the original simulation was a failure as the human mind could not accept such a stagnant existence, leading to the loss of many clone crops. Eventually, the Machines were able to recreate human society as it had existed at the end of the 20th century and so a stable Matrix was established. The cloned humans that lived within the Matrix were completely unaware that the world around them was just a simulation. People would go about their daily lives without the remotest clue that they were all mere organic batteries to a race of robots. However, there would be those individuals who possessed a quizzical nature who questioned the status quo and wondered if there was more to life than whatever was in front of their eyes. Such individuals would be closely monitored by the sentient programs that dwelled within the system and would be terminated if they were at risk of 'waking up'. Zion and the One For a time, there were no free humans left in the world. That all changed with the birth of "The One", a man born within the Matrix who saw it for what it really was and was capable of altering it at will. With his ability to freely defy the system, the One freed several humans from the Matrix and helped them to establish the community known as 'Zion'. After his death, the Oracle prophecized his return and that his coming would bring about the downfall of the Machines. Neo The search for the One would ultimately lead to the identification of Thomas A. Anderson, a Matrix resident who also went by the hacker alias "Neo". Neo is semi-aware of the falsehood that is the world around him and so is targeted by Morpheus to be offered the choice of discovering the true nature of the Matrix. Neo accepts Morpheus' offer and is released from the Matrix, removed from his Pod by a Docbot and disposed of in the sewers, where he is then retrieved by Morpheus' crew. Some time after learning the truth about the world and the prophecy of the One, Neo officially joins the Resistance against the Machines and is taken to see the Oracle, an Exile program that provides insight and wisdom to "redpills" opposing the system. The Oracle allows Neo to believe that Morpheus made a mistake in choosing him, that he is not really the One, but she really only tells Neo what he needs to hear, in order to inspire him to walk the path he eventually chooses. In a confrontation with the Matrix's Agents, Neo is supposedly killed. However, he rises again after being kissed in the real world by Trinity, one of Morpheus' crew. Upon his ressurrection, Neo sees the Matrix as programming code, understanding and percieving its true nature. The Agents fire on Neo, who blocks their shots with telekinesis. Agent Smith then attacks Neo head on but Neo is able to block and parry all of Smith's punches seemingly without even trying. Neo then appears to jump into Smith's form and destroy him from within. Neo has become the One. End of the war In ''The Matrix Reloaded ''and ''The Matrix Revolutions, ''the Matrix is threatened from within by Smith, who somehow returned after his destruction at Neo's hands. Now able to copy himself, Smith uses his newfound power and sense of purpose to infect the "bluepills" residing within the Matrix, imprinting himself on their digital personae. By doing this, Smith spreads across the Matrix like a virus, threatening humanity and Machines alike. Neo is told by the Oracle that Smith has essentially become Neo's polar opposite - the "Zero", so to speak - and seeks to destroy not only the Matrix but the real world too. At the end of ''Revolutions, ''Neo and Smith meet one last time to determine the fate of humans and Machines. The Machines have allowed Neo to re-enter the Matrix to battle Smith and destroy him before he overruns their central programming, and Neo asks that the Machines cease their war against Zion in return. When Neo jacks into the Matrix again, he finds that Smith has completely taken control; every bluepill and program across the entire Matrix has been turned into a Smith copy. Neo fights against the leading Smith while the others watch and Neo manages to defeat Smith by letting him imprint himself onto Neo. By doing this, Smith seals his own doom as his essence and Neo's cancel one another out, causing all of the Smiths across the Matrix to explode. With Neo and Smith destroyed, the Matrix can be reformatted and those who wish to be freed from the system are allowed to go. Category:Machine Worlds Category:Virtual Constructs Category:The Matrix